Cycling
This began when I was 3. That small plastic bike for kids gave me the same feeling as I got when I had bought my new Claud Butler. First plastic 3-wheel bike, then a bigger three-wheel one: without tubes, just on rubber cords - it was ugly and uncomfortable, but I loved it. It later was converted into a two-wheel device - my first feeling of the true bike balance! Then "adult" bikes like "Shkolnik" and "Salyut" (the latter was a real success of the Russian industry), and then a present from my grandma: my first mountain bike, heavy and simple stainless-steel VM which nevertheless helped me to participate in four marathons in 1999: 200, 300, 400, and 600km. Yeah, I did it :) Got four nice medals (a 600km story published in the 'Voronezh University' newspaper). I should participate in the final Paris-Brest-Paris marathon, and I even got an official invitation, but had no money for the trip to France... Was so poor... Anyway, later I visited Paris :o) Back to bikes... Then a good Wheeler (10,000km in one year) which was stolen, then a Taiwan (though with Shimano double wheels) bike which was almost down when I left it in December 2005 after PhD course. Then Claud Butler, a trusty friend for another 5 years.
Suffered several sport traumas and injuries, mainly in the head: sport injury in 1996 (concussion), struck by car in 1998 (an elderly driver didn't keep the roundabout), struck by truck in 1998 (drunk driver turned right onto me), road accident in 2001 (failure of automatic road barrier: it fell onto my head when I crossed the road), road accident on 02.08.2002 (road fault, facial surgery), struck by bus on 07.06.2008 (woman-driver entered the bicycle lane), slipped on uneven wet tiles in gym and fractured skull on 14.06.2022. It is interesting that Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was born on the same day July 30, too underwent facial surgery (genioplasty) and suffered many injuries (sport and road accidents). This is the influence of our common birth star Praesepe (7th degree of Leo).
On May 26th, 2010, my first Brompton was stolen in London (at noon under CCTV, with many pedestrians around seeing the thief - still, police were unable to catch him). In July 2010 I bought a new Brompton with which I participated in the Brompton World Championship 2010 and got a medal.
In May 2011, my Claud Butler was stolen (in front of the Royal Theatre, while I was attending a performance - two locks were cut). On July 30, 2011, I bought a new Bianchi Camaleonte, a great bike which feels as an aircraft in hands. Happy riding!
TOURS:
Haifa tour (200km), 10 September 2000
Freiburg tour (100km), 12 April 2001
Mini Israel Park tour (100km), 15 October 2003
Great Yarmouth tour (100km), 5 January 2007
Norfolk tour (300km), 5-7 May 2007
Cambridge tour (130km), 26 May 2007
Oxford tour (180km), 16 June 2007
The Wandle tour (80km circle via Croydon), 30 September 2007
Lowestoft & Broads tour (120km), 7 July 2007
Chelmsford tour (110km), 14 July 2007
Fakenham tour (145km), 22 July 2007
Suffolk & Kent tour (350km), 25-27 August 2007
Aylsham tour (70km), 8 September 2007
London FreeWheel event (70km), 23 Septemeber 2007
Middlesbrough tour (110km), 29 September 2007
OneRanger tour (Felixtowe, Bury St Edmunds & Ely, 85 km), 13 October 2007
Greater London tour (Chelsea, Kensington, Hammersmith, Ealing, Hounslow, Southhall, 105km), 20 October 2007
OneRanger tour (Ely, Ipswich, 35km), 27 October 2007
OneRanger tour (Hadleigh, Sunbury, Harwich, Ipswich, 100km), 3 November 2007
Yarmouth-Cromer tour (100km), 24 February 2008
Loddon tour (60km), 2 March 2008
Crufts & Cadbury tour (70 km), 8-9 March 2008
Castle Road tour (810 km, Stuttgart-Prague), 20-30 March 2008
Devon & Cornwall tour (240 km, Exeter-Truro), 24-26 May 2008
Peak District tour (290 km, Sheffield-Derby), 20-22 June 2008
London & Greenwich tour (100km), 13 July 2008
North-East Norfolk tour (60km, Happisburgh-Cromer), 23 September 2008
North-West Norfolk tour (100km, Sheringham-Holkham-Houghton), 25 September 2008
Norfolk tour (50km), 9 November 2008
Wales tour (300km, Liverpool to Hollyhead & Swansea to Cardiff), 27-30 December 2008
Aspall tour (80km, Norfolk & Suffolk), 10 May 2009
York Roman festival tour (280km, York - Peterborough), 23-25 May 2009
Holt tour (50km circle from Cromer), 27 May 2009
Thorpe Market tour (40km), 29 May 2009
Norfolk coast tour (50km, B1159), 31 May 2009
Suffolk tour (80km, Ipswich, Sutton Hoo burial site, Orford Castle, Lowestoft), 18 July 2009
Norfolk minitour (10km, Worstead, Coltishall), 23 September 2009
Norfolk loop (50km via Loddon & Reedham ferry), 4 October 2009
Belgium tour (150km, Gent, Brugge, Oostende, Blankenberge, Antwerpen, Marche-en-Famenne, Namur, Liege; also Lille and Maastricht), 20-28 February 2010
Danube tour (400km, Budapest, Visegrad, Esztergom, Tarjan, Gyor, Bratislava, Vienna), 28 April - 2 May 2010
South-West tour (500km, Penzance, St Michael's Mount, Land's End, Portreath, Perranporth, Newquay, Treyarnon, Padstow, Boscastle, Bideford, Barnstaple, Ilfracombe, Lynmouth, Minehead, Bridgewater, Glastonbury, Bath), 18-23 July 2010
Coast to Coast tour (200km, Windermere, Kendal, Hawes, Aysgarth, Leyburn, Bedale, Northallerton, Guisborough, Whitby, Scarborough), 25-27 March 2011
Donauradweg (370km, Passau, Linz, Grein, Krems, Tulln, Wachau, Vienna), 30 March - 3 April 2011
Scotland tour (100km, Inverness, Loch Ness, Elgin, Buckie, Cullen, Banff, Aberdeen), 28-30 May 2011
Hadrian Wall and Northumberland Coast tour (300km, Carlisle, Hexham, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Bamburgh, Seahouses, Whitley Bay, Newcastle), 12-15 August 2011
Italian lakes tour (420km, Malpensa, Arona, Verbania, Laveno, Lavena Ponte Tresa, Cuasson al Monte, Riva San Vitale, Mendrisio, Como, Dubino, Lecco, Desenzano, Riva del Garda, Peschiera del Garda, Milano; lakes: Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Garda), 16-24 September 2011
Norfolk loop (60kms via Laddon and Reedham ferry cross over the Broads), 3 December 2011
Snowdonia & London suburbs (320km, Blackpool, Liverpool, Ewloe, Rhyl, Conwy, Bangor, Benllech, Moelfre, Beaumaris, Menai bridge, Caernarfron, Porthmadog; London Excel, Barking, Romford, Brentwood, Ingatestone), 27 December 2011 - 1 January 2012
Diamond Jubilee tour (250kms, Weymouth, Swanage, Bournemouth, Christchurch, New Forest, Southampton, Gosport, Portsmouth, Havant, Chichester, Littlehampton, Brighton), 1-4 June 2012
Loire Valley tour (150km, Angers, Tours, Meung-sur-Loire, Orleans), 9-10 June 2012
Brompton Factory Ride (50km, including Richmond park circle and Thames path back to central London), 14 July 2012
Thames Path ride (25km, from Richmond Park to Westminster), 30 December 2012
Danube tour 2013 (430km, from Stuttgart to Linz 270km, then 160km of Vienna commuting during EGU Annual Assembly), 3-13 April 2013
Kennet & Avon canal (130km, from Bath to Hungerford), 23-24 June 2013
Greater London mini-tour (30km, from Twickenham to Edgware), 21 July 2013
Sussex tour (105km, Brighton, Eastbourne, Bodiam Castle, Tornbridge), 15 November 2013
Donauerweg (850km, from Zurich to Vienna, along Rhein and Danube), 18-27 April 2014
Thames Valley mini-tour (45km, from Hampton Court to Staines and back on the other bank of the river), 21 June 2014
Danube tour 2015 (650km, from Donauwoerth to Vienna via Altmuhl valley), 4-11 April 2015
London tour (30km, from Hampton to Westminster), 28 August 2015
Kent tour (140km, from Brighton to Hastings, from Ramsgate to Canterbury via Whitstable; Viking Coastal Trail and Crab & Winkle Way), 19-20 December 2015
Sussex tour (100km, Dormans, Crowborough, Lewes, Glynde, Newhaven, Brighton), 11 March 2016
Donauradweg (625km, from Munich to Vienna, via Landshut, Passau, Linz; Wachau valley between Melk and Krems), 9-17 April 2016
Sussex & Kent tour (220km, from Brighton to Ramsgate), 25-26 June 2016
Surrey tour (20km, from Guildford to Byfleet via Basingstoke canal), 20 July 2016
Thames Path tour (20km from Hampton to Westminster), 29 July 2016
Sussex tour (60km, East Grinstead, The Forest Way, Brighton), 12 August 2016
Thames Path (from Westminster to Hampton), 20km, 4 September 2016
Sussex & Kent tour (255km, Forest Way, Cuckoo Trail, from Eastbourne to Dover, from Margate to Whinstable, and from Rochester to Greenwich), 28-30 October 2016
Donauradweg (430km, from Munich to Landshut, from Passau to Vienna), 18-23 April 2017
Sussex tour (70km, from Linsfield to Brighton), 10 June 2017
Isar- and Donauradweg (600km, from Munich to Vienna via Deggendorf), 1-8 April 2018
Isar- and Donauradweg (500km from Munich to Vienna with some cuts), 1-7 April 2019
Sussex tour (150km, East Grinsted to Bexhill, then to Brighton and Lewes because of the bicycle ban on rail due to London-Brighton event), 15-16 June 2019
Sussex tour (East Grinsted to Lewes, 70km), 28 June 2019
Sussex tour (East Grinsted to Brighton via Ashdown Forest, 100km), 8 June 2020
Sussex tour (Hastings to Brighton, 65 km via Sustrans route 2), 15 June 2020
Sussex tour (Hastings to Brighton, 65 km via Sustrans route 2), 22 June 2020
e-bike Portugal tour (Faro to Estoi, offroad in Ria Formosa, 50 km on Yamaha engine), 12 December 2020
Sussex tour (East Grinstead to Newhaven and Brighton), 70km, 9 July 2021
Windsor tour (Hampton, Shepperton, Staines, Windsor farms), 30km, 22 October 2021
The river Crane path (from Twickenham to Hanworth), 20km, 10 April 2022
French Viking tour (from Dieppe to Le Havre via Eurovelo4, then from Le Havre to Paris via the Siene Route), 650km, 14-22 May 2022
Devon & Dorset tour (from Exeter to Weymouth and Portland via Exmouth, Abbotsbury and Portesham), 150km, 22-23 October 2022
Gloucestershire, Wiltshire & Somerset tour (Bristol, Berkley, Frampton on Severn, Cirencester, Royal Wootton Bassett, Avebury, Pewsey, Caen Hill lock cascade, Avon canal, Bath), 230km, 26-28 February 2023
Devon tour (Exeter, Dartmoor, Torquay), 100km, 1-2 April 2023
Sussex tour (East Grinstead, Forest Row, Lewis, Rottingdean, Brighton), 55km, 22 April 2023
EuroVelo1 route (from Bordeaux to Bilbao, via Biarritz and San Sebastian), 360km, 8-11 June 2023
Tucson Wildlife centre tour, Arizona, USA, 50km, 19 August 2023
Sonora desert tour, Arizona, USA, 40km, 26 August 2023
After-seminar tour (Leicester, Oxford, Maidenhead, Ealing), 220km, 20-22 October 2023
Isar- and Donauradweg (Munich-Deggendorf-Passau-Vienna), 530km, 7-14 April 2024
Some of the tours are described here.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
5th Brompton World Championship 2010, 3 October, finished 66th among 116 women with time 00:37:55 (two loops in the Blenheim estate, 13kms)
6th Brompton World Championship 2011, 21 August, finished 50 among 93 Open Female (or 60th among 127 women) with time 00:35:12
10th Brompton World Championship 2015, 1 August, finished 50 among 111 Open Female with time 0:29:07 (12.75km, 6 loops around St James Park, London)
14th Brompton World Championship 2019, 3 August, finished 49th among 108 Open Female with time 0:23:05 (13km, 6 loops around St James Park, London)